Essential Unity3D Plugins / Packages
Unity3D is a powerful suite of tools (Project IDE, Code IDE, run-time) for game development.
As always, RivelloMultimediaConsulting.com/unity/ will be the central location for deep articles and tutorials, Facebook.com/RivelloMultimediaConsulting (like us!) will engage the growing RMC+Unity community, and for the latest opinions and cool links follow me at Twitter.com/srivello.
The Unity IDE offers an Asset Store. If you haven’t yet familiarized yourself with the Asset Store, this is a great opportunity to dive in. You’ll find nearly everything a game developer could wish for– complete template projects, models of every shape and size, countless textures and materials, an extensive set of code libraries, hours of professional music and sound effects, and a broad selection of editor extensions to bring new functionality to Unity. Best of all, we’ve gone out of our way to make sure that these offerings are both affordable and covered by a common, easy-to-use license without legal complexities such as royalties.
I think of the store like a free bag of temporary art while I work. More rarely, when tackling a technical challenge I check the store to see if another developer has solved my needs and created a code library. The naming doesn’t seem standardized, but when I say 3rd party code-library, package, or plugin I mean the same thing. I mean a collection of coding classes which augment the IDE itself and/or enable richer development.
Something remarkable, and quite different than the Flash community, is that these packages can actually add functionality to the Unity3D IDE itself. New first-class menus, panels, UI Gizmos, etc… It is truly amazing.
I have asked leading developers and combed hundreds of message boards and forums looking for what the community thinks are the most Essential Unity3D Plugins / Packages. Here is my short list. All are compatible with both free and pro versions of Unity 4.x. Apparently some packages are pro-only. Also I believe all can target any platform which Unity targets (desktop, web, mobile, etc…).
2DToolkit
iTween is a simple, powerful and easy to use animation system for Unity. Focusing on the established solutions and frameworks of projects such as TweenLite, Tweener, and other Flash-based tweening and interpolation systems, iTween is a battle-tested solution for streamlining production in the Unity environment. If it needs to come alive; its shouldn’t be frustrating. iTween exists to help you reach your goals without making the journey difficult, allowing polish to coexist in tandem with production.
I have used this on some proof of concepts and love it. The tile map system does not appear complete with a good demo included (as of 2.0), so I’m eagerly awaiting that.
Price: $65
Link: Developer / AssetStore
Alternatives: Ex2D (35$), Orthello2D (Free), Sprite Manager 2 ($45) & Uni2D ($45), & Many more…
Community Buzz: Look, 2D in Unity is both possible and super powerful. Its also a super popular (more than 3D?) type of game these days. So there are many, many packages to help this. I chose 2DToolkit for my work after researching what was out there. I wanted the most powerful, friendly, ACTIVE project.
Features:
- NEW! The tilemap and UI add-ons are FREE and included with 2D Toolkit!
- NEW! Platform specific sprite collections.
- Automatic atlasing system.
- Pixel perfect rendering.
- Workflow-centric animation editor – Set up large animations in seconds.
- Sliced sprites for 9-slice scaling.
- Automatically generate multiple atlases from Sprite Collections.
- Create automatic and custom colliders.
- Create polygon colliders with multiple shapes for one sprite.
- Static sprite batcher with automatic collider generation.
- Texture gradient support for TextMeshes
- Extremely efficient and lean C# runtime code.
iTween
iTween is a simple, powerful and easy to use animation system for Unity. Focusing on the established solutions and frameworks of projects such as TweenLite, Tweener, and other Flash-based tweening and interpolation systems, iTween is a battle-tested solution for streamlining production in the Unity environment. If it needs to come alive; its shouldn’t be frustrating. iTween exists to help you reach your goals without making the journey difficult, allowing polish to coexist in tandem with production.
I used this on several projects. I feel like it doesn’t do ‘much’, but it does it great. Perhaps coming from Flash with Greensocks Tween classes I was spoiled. Also, the syntax of this could be greatly improved. The author recently posted that a new version is (slowly) in the works. Still, its great.
Price: Free!
Link: Developer / AssetStore
Alternatives: None
Community Buzz: This seems to be a staple tool of every great Unity developer.
Features:
- Easily fade audio
- Move the camera
- Fade, Move, Scale, & Rotate your GameObjects
- Update your Vectors!
- Compatible with PlayMaker (see below)
- To be most useful I recommend the “iTween Parameter Code Hinting” free add-on.
NGUI
This is the ‘Next Generation UI Kit’ or simply NGUI. Unity provides built-in functionality for creating graphical user interfaces (GUI) including buttons and text. However the system before Unity 4.0 was pretty poor and the current system leaves much to be desired. GUI allows the user to create.
I have not used this in production yet. Will probably be my next package to purchase and explore.
Price: $95 USD
Link: Developer / AssetStore
Alternatives: EZGUI ($200), iGUI ($95). Great comparison article here.
Community Buzz: There are some compelling alternatives, but also we see a lot of the community using it, blogging about it, and making tutorial videos. There are packages which add functionality to NGUI too (from NGUI developer and others), so there is good momentum on this and it is in active development. This is one of the most often mentioned packages in “Unity3D Developer” job posts. Its a popular skill to have!
Features:
- Full Inspector integration (Custom Editors)
- What you see in the Scene view is what you get in the Game view (fully WYSIWYG)
- Automatic atlasing system.
- Pixel perfect rendering.
- Component-based, modular nature: attach the behaviors you want to make your widgets do what you want without having to code.
- Flexible event system
- Make complex UIs that take only 1 draw call
- UI Components included: Label, Sprite, Sliced Sprite, Tiled Sprite, Filled Sprite, Simple Button, Image Button, Radio Button, Checkbox, Progress Bar, Slider, Input, Dropdown List, Scrollable List
PlayMaker
Playmaker is a visual scripting system / state machine manager, which uses states (which house actions, each a snippet of pre-written code) and transitions to develop a game. A highly simplified example: You can attach a finite state machine, or “FSM”, to a character with the states “fighting,” “idle,” and “walking” and setup the rules for when each state occurs. All of it is customizable. You can use PlayMaker along side your own ‘regular’ code too.
Price: $90 USD (on sale for $45)
Link: Developer / AssetStore
Alternatives: EZGUI ($200), iGUI ($95). Great comparison article here.
Community Buzz: ‘Real’ coders might laugh at the idea of a visual scripting tool. It might be easier for a skeptical veteran coder to think of it as a drag-and-drop tool to replace scripting just during PROTOTYPES. But with its power, and ease-of-use you’ll quickly find a way for PlayMaker to have use in all areas of your workflow, from brainstorming through project launch.
What can you make with Playmaker?
- A.I. Behaviors
- Animation Graphs
- Interactive objects
- In-engine cut-scenes
- Gameplay prototypes
- Interactive walkthroughs
- more…
Features:
- Visual state machines are intuitive and powerful for beginners and pros!
- Programmers love visual state machines too.
- Runtime Debugging lets you watch state machine behavior.
- Set Breakpoints and Step through state changes.
Intuitive Visual Editor
- Quickly add States and Actions.
- Connect States with Transitions.
- Manage Events and Variables.
- Save time with Templates and Copy/Paste.
- Integrated Help.
Highly Extendible
- Write Custom Actions and they appear in the editor.
- Custom Actions available for many popular addons:
- Photon, 2D Toolkit, iTween, NGUI, Smooth Moves…
- User Community shares actions on the Forums and Wiki.
- Open API allows you to make FSMs in code.
Honorable Mentions
I have not yet tried these other popular plugins, but the community loves them. Feel free to check them out
- Ragespline
- RageTools & RageTools Pro Add-on
- FingerGestures
- Prime31 Unity Plugins (StoreKit, Amazon In App, Etcetera for iOS & Android)
- Shadow Volumes Toolkit
- Pool Manager 2
- Shatter Toolkit
- Mega-Fiers
- Multiplatform Toolkit
- Ultimate FPS
- UScript
What’s next?
I am working on an HD Video tutorial series which will include some of these plugins. Your feedback will help me know which I should cover first. Let me know!
What are your thoughts?
Do you prefer an alternative to the suggestions above? Or do you have an additional recommendation? Please comment below.
[polldaddy poll=7181109]
I believe you should take a look at the (known as) essential plugin “Master Audio”. We’re about to release version 3 and it is the most versatile and complex, yes easy to use, audio plugin on the Asset Store. Check out the reviews!
[…] to build the definitive list of the best asset store content for developers. Here is are the Essential Unity3D Plugins / Packages. All are compatible with both free and pro versions of […]
[…] to build the definitive list of the best asset store content for developers. Here is are the Essential Unity3D Plugins / Packages. All are compatible with both free and pro versions of […]
I read a lot of interesting articles here. Probably you spend a lot
of time writing, i know how to save you a lot of work, there is
an online tool that creates high quality, SEO friendly posts
in minutes, just type in google – laranitas free content
Great website, I think Iam coming back here for more information. Keep up the good work.
Great blog, looks that I am coming back here for more information. Keep up the good work.
Thanks, Check out my website as well :-), Regards,
Thanks, Check out my website as well :-), Regards,
A great one is Little Vector Library which is platform independent and can draw 2G graphics onto textures and image components.
I think you should check it out and add it to your list!
Really wished to state I’m relieved I happened in your web site!.
NBA 2k17 http://laminaheat.com/forum/index.php?topic=125.0
Your information is incredibly intriguing
FIFA 17 http://www.hnsssd.com/comment/html/index.php?page=1&id=87170
Wow cuz this is really excellentexcellent job! Congrats and keep it up
NBA 2k17 http://dura.0997elan.com/home.php?mod=space&uid=40117&do=profile&from=space
You’ve remarkable info in this case
FIFA 17 http://acesnation.org/members/christenbabin/activity/37420/
Thank you! It a astonishing site!.
FIFA 17 http://z2008.com/bbs/home.php?mod=space&uid=43768&do=profile&from=space
Maintain the spectacular work !! Lovin’ it!
nhl 17 http://patriotdveri.ru/component/k2/itemlist/user/17589
Wow cuz this is very excellentexcellent work! Congrats and keep it up
nhl 17 http://bil.lv/?option=com_k2&view=itemlist&task=user&id=522711
The results of these studies were blended, which describes why q has not been popular in the last decades.
Voici quelques FAQ commune au sujet de la Garcinia Cambogia qui vous aide à décider
qui est le meilleur parmi ceux disponibles dans le marché.
Dehydrated garcinia rinds have been used for centuries in Southeast Asia as a condiment and seasoning for meats and curries; garcinia infusions are also used to flavor drinks.
The knowledge is amazingly interesting
Sustain the excellent job !! Lovin’ it!
I have recently started a website, the information you offer on this site has helped me greatly. Thank you for all of your time & work.
I am really inspired with your writing talents and also with the format to your blog. Is this a paid subject or did you modify it your self? Either way keep up the excellent high quality writing, it’s uncommon to peer a nice blog like this one these days..
Thank you for another informative web site. Where else could I get that type of information written in such an ideal way? I’ve a project that I am just now working on, and I have been on the look out for such info.
Hiya very cool site!! Man .. Beautiful .. Amazing .. I will bookmark your blog and take the feeds alsoKI’m happy to seek out a lot of helpful information right here in the post, we need work out extra techniques in this regard, thanks for sharing. . . . . .